Hunting season in Utah officially started on Aug. 1 as archers in and around the state took to the open hunting lands and began the search for anterless doe and other elk.

Of course, those aren’t the only things being hunted on an annual basis, but the October hunts are the ones people tend to really look forward to.

This season’s hunt isn’t any different for hunters. By the time this piece has hit paper, my brother-in-law will be out the door and on his way to who knows where in order to get one buck.

In the years since he’s been back from the Navy, he’s come back empty-handed.

That’s never stopped him from getting a tag the next season, and I’m sure that’s been the case for most hunters around here.

I can probably count on one hand the number of people I know that hunt as much as he does. Even fewer seem to look forward to next year’s hunt as my brother-in-law does.

When he comes back empty-handed from a hunt, the only thing he can talk about is how he’s going to get a buck next year.

Even though the archery season starts earlier than most of the other hunts, the bull elk hunt for rifles and muzzle loaders is the one that people look forward to the most.

Maybe it’s the time of year, or maybe it’s the only time of the year hunters can pull out all the rifles they’ve had locked away in a safe from the last hunt.

Either way, these next few weeks will be the busiest weeks of the year for elk and deer hunters.

Personally I’ve always wanted to give hunting a try. As I’ve gotten older, curiosity starts to set in about certain things I might have missed out on. It’s led to me doing the “try anything once” approach on most things; however, it only works if I at least have some sort of interest.

For instance, fishing was something I tried as a child and never liked. Now, I have a fishing pole and a tackle box with all the basic things needed to fish.

Catching fish is another story, however.

The idea of hunting deer, elk, or anything else for that matter, still isn’t completely on my “to do” list when it comes to trying something for the first time.

While I’ve dabbled in it from time to time by watching local TV shows about hunting, it’s one of those items that doesn’t quite peak my interest enough to say “hey, that sounds like fun.”